Clearly, all is not well in the world of Call of Duty. ****** Ops 7 appears to have struggled for players and sales relatively speaking amid tough competition from the likes of EA’s Battlefield 6 and Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders, and coming out just a year after ****** Ops 6. Microsoft is yet to announce a player count or a sales figure for ****** Ops 7, nor has it detailed any boost to Game Pass subscriber numbers as a result of its launch. Clearly, it hasn’t met its expectations. Last month, sales data suggested ****** Ops 7 was struggling not just against rival shooter Battlefield 6, but also last year’s ****** Ops 6. The Game Business reported that ****** Ops 7’s European launch saw opening week sales down 63% versus Battlefield 6 during the equivalent launch periods for each shooter, and ****** Ops 7 also down by more than 50% versus ****** Ops 6. All in all, ****** Ops 7 had a “terrible” launch, The Game Business’ chief Chris Dring said in a post on social media. Then, in a shock development, Activision promised never to release ****** Ops or Modern Warfare games back to back again. In a statement attributed to "the Call of Duty team" (Treyarch, Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward, Raven Software and co.), Activision admitted “that for some of you, the franchise has not met your expectations fully. To be very clear, we know what you expect and rest assured we will deliver, and overdeliver, on those expectations as we move forward.” Activision continued: “We will no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or ****** Ops games. The reasons are many, but the main one is to ensure we provide an absolutely unique experience each and every year. We will drive innovation that is meaningful, not incremental. While we aren’t sharing those plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time is right.” Fast forward to this week, and Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty has painted a slightly rosier picture. When asked about ****** Ops 7's performance by Variety, Booty responded to confirm that it's one of the most-played games on Xbox right now, and that he was proud of what the development team was able to achieve. He then said Call of Duty is “its own unique category” because of Activision’s ability to release content via a seasonal model, so the launch isn’t the end of ****** Ops 7’s story. Here’s the quote in full: “Right now, it is one of the most-played games on Xbox. And I’m really proud of what the team did, in terms of feature innovation, moving the franchise forward. Shipping a major franchise like clockwork every year is a really difficult task, and I’m really proud of what the team did to move the franchise forward in that way. “And the interesting thing about Call of Duty is, I think that as an IP, it is really well positioned to continue to deliver content for players going forward; the system of seasons. And it’s not just about the launch, but it’s kind of in its own unique category and ability in terms of how the team keeps delivering content throughout the year. So we’re real happy with where we’ve landed with that.” Amid the doom and gloom, Microsoft has said Call of Duty (overall) ended 2025 as the number one franchise on Game Pass for total players and hours all year, which perhaps doesn’t come as much of a surprise given this is Call of Duty we’re talking about. But it does show that even when Call of Duty has a bad year relative to previous games in the series, it's still massively popular relative to other games. Call of Duty is now at something of a crossroads. 2026’s Call of Duty game is almost certainly a continuation of Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward, but what will 2027 bring? ****** Ops 8? Activision’s failure to establish a third Call of Duty sub-brand means that it has become overly reliant on Modern Warfare and ****** Ops to keep the franchise going at the player numbers executives demand. Could Microsoft take the drastic step of giving Call of Duty a year off to recover from its recent struggles? Given Microsoft paid $69 billion for Activision Blizzard, it seems unlikely. As for ****** Ops 7 in the here and now, Activision has promised "unprecedented season support," saying it "won't rest until ****** Ops 7 earns its place as one of the best ****** Ops games we’ve ever made." Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article
The Wizard World of Harry Potter is headed to Fortnite, as Epic Games offers Hogwarts Legacy for free via its PC Store. As announced last night at The Game Awards 2025, Hogwarts Legacy is now free to claim from the Epic Games Store until December 18, at 11am ET. Shortly following the announcement, users reported that the store was struggling to load — with many linking the troubles to a flood of wizard wannabes rushing to claim their copy. Anyone with more than two hours of Hogwarts Legacy gameplay time on their account by December 18 will be granted a Chocolate Frog Back Bling in Fortnite, Epic Games has said. And that's not the only Harry Potter content coming to its battle royale game. While Harry Potter himself appears to be sitting things out for now, Fortnite skins featuring characters in Hogwarts robes will be sold later this month. These outfits will be customizable so you can dress as a student in any of the Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or even Hufflepuff. Harry Potter content coming to Fortnite is no surprise — fans tracking the game's files have previously ppointed to a collaboration coming in the near future, and expect broomsticks as Mythic items within the game's upcoming annual Winterfest celebrations. Beyond this, Harry Potter is just the latest in the long line of Warner Bros. characters now arriving into the game following the shutdown of the publisher's own live-service attempt Multiversus. Familiar faces from DC and Adventure Time have been in Fortnite for some time, but recent months have seen the addition of the Scooby-Doo gang, Beetlejuice and Jason Vorhees — all former Multiversus veterans. Will we see more next year, such as characters from Game of Thrones, Gremlins and Looney Tunes? Time will tell. "In almost every way, Hogwarts Legacy is the Harry Potter RPG I’ve always wanted to play," IGN wrote in our Hogwarts Legacy review, awarding the game 9/10. Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social View the full article
The Game Awards 2025 delivered a couple of surprise reveals that caught many viewers off guard, and one of them was Forest 3, which confirmed a major shift in the plot and gameplay direction. The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley described the trailer as "something completely unexpected," and it turned out to be just as shocking as he claimed. View the full article
NetEase Games and Everstone Studio have released Where Winds Meet Version 1.1 "Timeless Bonds" and also teased The Imperial Palace update for 2026. View the full article
Lord of Hatred is the next Diablo IV expansion and it is up for pre-order right now across multiple editions with various digital bonuses. View the full article
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is celebrating its launch year and awards with a free major update for all platforms out now and a new trailer. View the full article
Gryphline's new entry in the Arknights universe featuring real-time action combat and factory building is releasing in just a few weeks. View the full article
A new trailer for sci-fi action-RPG Exodus shared by Archetype Entertainment at the The Game Awards depicts the journey of protagonist Jun Aslan. View the full article
Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator and former producer of the Yakuza series, has officially unveiled his latest game at The Game Awards 2025: Gang of Dragon. The gritty, 2-minute trailer was one of the many world premieres revealed at last night's Game Awards ceremony. And if the brief cinematic action is anything to go by, it looks like Nagoshi could be about to give his former franchise a serious run for its money with his newest title. View the full article
Roblox Anime TDs have been releasing left and right lately and while some like Anime Crusaders have popped off, others have flopped. Universal TD looks to be a success with a wide roster of characters with unique abilities. Luckily, here are the Universal Tower Defense Trello, Wiki and Discord to keep track of everything. Universal TD Trello, Wiki and Discord Links Image via UTD Here's everything you need to start playing Universal TD while staying informed: Universal Tower Defense DiscordUniversal Tower Defense Wiki (WIP by our BloxInformer Roblox Team)Official Universal TD Wiki coming soon!Universal Tower Defense Game PageUTD Roblox GroupUTD YouTube & Twitter/X Pages Out of all of these links I would start with the Wikis first since they have the most info on all the units. There's also info on the in-game features and mechanics for progression. You can find info on: All units and statsAll evolutionsAll progression featuresAll game modesAll game passesAll codesAll items and accessories After the Wikis you can dive into the Discord for more specific questions to the community and the devs. There's always a tester or an experienced player there to answer any questions like which units are better to go for early or in the end-game. This is the best place to find community tier lists. The Discord is also useful to keep track of the latest updates. The Announcements and Update-Log are there so you can check the latest additions as well as buffs and nerfs which are quite common in TD games overall. Don't forget about the Codes and Giveaways channels where you can score free rewards if you stay tuned. That's it for my Universal Tower Defense Trello board, Wiki page and Discord server walkthrough. Check out our Universal Tower Defense codes for free goodies. The post Universal Tower Defense Trello, Wiki and Discord appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
The demo will come with an extra chance to get the Twin-Snake Helmet for not only PS5 users but also PC players for the first time. View the full article
We got lots of big reveals during The Game Awards, but there were certainly some notable absences. I can't honestly say I really expected to see Persona 6, but I was quietly hoping Fable would show its face. The long-awaited return of the classic fantasy game series has gone rather quiet, sailing under the radar ever since confirmation earlier this year that it would no longer be arriving before 2026. With that right around the corner, it felt like a good opportunity to check in, but one that was sadly missed. However, head of Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty has some potentially good news. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Fable 4 release date estimate, trailers, story, and latest news Fable won't be coming this year after all as launch date gets pushed back Fable finally has a launch window, and a gorgeous new trailer View the full article
It's not uncommon for those within the gaming industry to congratulate one another on major successes, which is exactly what began to happen immediately after Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home Game of the Year at The Game Awards, but this time even Major League Baseball decided to join the celebration surrounding Sandfall Interactive's debut title. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was originally released on April 24, 2025, and is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. View the full article
Bringing more classic gaming goodies with the Vulkan-based translation layer for Direct3D 7, D7VK 1.0 is out now for Linux. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article
A new Recommended / Certified Linux driver release from NVIDIA with version 580.119.02 now available. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article
The halfway Season 5.5 update for Marvel Rivals adds plenty of exciting content, including a series of buffs and nerfs in another major balance patch. These adjustments can range from a lot of new qualities for heroes, from changing their base abilities to altering aspects of their health. Your favorite character might gain a much-needed boost to their effectiveness, or have an overpowered quality significantly impacted. View the full article
The long-awaited sequel to the 2019 action-adventure game stars Jesse Faden's younger brother Dylan and it's described as an "open ended action-adventure RPG". View the full article
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Clearly, all is not well in the world of Call of Duty. ****** Ops 7 appears to have struggled for players and sales relatively speaking amid tough competition from the likes of EA’s Battlefield 6 and Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders, and coming out just a year after ****** Ops 6. Microsoft is yet to announce a player count or a sales figure for ****** Ops 7, nor has it detailed any boost to Game Pass subscriber numbers as a result of its launch. Clearly, it hasn’t met its expectations. Last month, sales data suggested ****** Ops 7 was struggling not just against rival shooter Battlefield 6, but also last year’s ****** Ops 6. The Game Business reported that ****** Ops 7’s European launch saw opening week sales down 63% versus Battlefield 6 during the equivalent launch periods for each shooter, and ****** Ops 7 also down by more than 50% versus ****** Ops 6. All in all, ****** Ops 7 had a “terrible” launch, The Game Business’ chief Chris Dring said in a post on social media. Then, in a shock development, Activision promised never to release ****** Ops or Modern Warfare games back to back again. In a statement attributed to "the Call of Duty team" (Treyarch, Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward, Raven Software and co.), Activision admitted “that for some of you, the franchise has not met your expectations fully. To be very clear, we know what you expect and rest assured we will deliver, and overdeliver, on those expectations as we move forward.” Activision continued: “We will no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or ****** Ops games. The reasons are many, but the main one is to ensure we provide an absolutely unique experience each and every year. We will drive innovation that is meaningful, not incremental. While we aren’t sharing those plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time is right.” Fast forward to this week, and Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty has painted a slightly rosier picture. When asked about ****** Ops 7's performance by Variety, Booty responded to confirm that it's one of the most-played games on Xbox right now, and that he was proud of what the development team was able to achieve. He then said Call of Duty is “its own unique category” because of Activision’s ability to release content via a seasonal model, so the launch isn’t the end of ****** Ops 7’s story. Here’s the quote in full: “Right now, it is one of the most-played games on Xbox. And I’m really proud of what the team did, in terms of feature innovation, moving the franchise forward. Shipping a major franchise like clockwork every year is a really difficult task, and I’m really proud of what the team did to move the franchise forward in that way. “And the interesting thing about Call of Duty is, I think that as an IP, it is really well positioned to continue to deliver content for players going forward; the system of seasons. And it’s not just about the launch, but it’s kind of in its own unique category and ability in terms of how the team keeps delivering content throughout the year. So we’re real happy with where we’ve landed with that.” Amid the doom and gloom, Microsoft has said Call of Duty (overall) ended 2025 as the number one franchise on Game Pass for total players and hours all year, which perhaps doesn’t come as much of a surprise given this is Call of Duty we’re talking about. But it does show that even when Call of Duty has a bad year relative to previous games in the series, it's still massively popular relative to other games. Call of Duty is now at something of a crossroads. 2026’s Call of Duty game is almost certainly a continuation of Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward, but what will 2027 bring? ****** Ops 8? Activision’s failure to establish a third Call of Duty sub-brand means that it has become overly reliant on Modern Warfare and ****** Ops to keep the franchise going at the player numbers executives demand. Could Microsoft take the drastic step of giving Call of Duty a year off to recover from its recent struggles? Given Microsoft paid $69 billion for Activision Blizzard, it seems unlikely. As for ****** Ops 7 in the here and now, Activision has promised "unprecedented season support," saying it "won't rest until ****** Ops 7 earns its place as one of the best ****** Ops games we’ve ever made." Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article